"The MG42 was adopted by a number of armed organizations after the war, and was copied or license-built as well. Yugoslavia license-built the MG42 as the M52, retaining the 7.92x57mm caliber. By doing so, the Yugoslavians retained the original weapon's design features, making the M52 a nearly exact copy of the German MG42. The only major difference is a slower rate of fire."

So what is different about the M53 that lowers the rate of fire? It doesn't appear to be bolt weight, thanks!

Considering some of the other statements in the article that don't align with reality:The MG42 was developed from the MG34? Really? I guess fast horses were developed from fast cows then. Obviously their designs are completely different (other than a recoiling barrel).If the feed system for the M60 was copied from the MG42, why do you have to lift up the belt on the 60 to get it to run?The MG42 was was matched to the newly-developed Lafette 42 tripod? That tripod was in use for the MG34 for 8 years. It just had the gun mount section (cradle) modified to hold the 42... adapting one part isn't exactly what I would call "newly-developed".It "lent many design elements to the American M60", no actually it didn't, however there are some similarities between all open bolt, light MGs. The MG34 has similarities too, but it wasn't derived from the MG42 either - the point being that simply because one came first, it doesn't mean that being similar means it must have been copied from something else.

I don't think I'd believe the statement that the Yugo copy is slower than the MG42. Parts between the two have the same dimensions and weight. How they could come up with a different rate of fire is a mystery to me, unless they used different ammunition. I've heard them both running, and although my ears aren't rate of fire timers, I can certainly tell when one isn't running up to speed.

Don't believe everything you read, or you'll have to believe that the design of the American M60 is base on the MG42, as I've read many times, and heard repeated even more often (as recently as this week). The two are completely different, as anyone who has had both of them apart will tell you (rotating bolt vs. locking rollers, gas operated vs. recoil operated, etc.). Also speaking of incorrect statements in print, the MG34 rate of fire is NOT adjustable by unscrewing the flash hider (the American MG34 manual says that).

Internet wizards and YouTube stars are not always reliable, and just because somebody wrote it or has it in a book doesn't mean it's true. Of all the stuff I've read and translated about the MG42 and Yugo copy, this is the first I've heard of a rate of fire difference.

JBaum wrote:Considering some of the other statements in the article that don't align with reality:The MG42 was developed from the MG34? Really? I guess fast horses were developed from fast cows then. Obviously their designs are completely different (other than a recoiling barrel).If the feed system for the M60 was copied from the MG42, why do you have to lift up the belt on the 60 to get it to run?The MG42 was was matched to the newly-developed Lafette 42 tripod? That tripod was in use for the MG34 for 8 years. It just had the gun mount section (cradle) modified to hold the 42... adapting one part isn't exactly what I would call "newly-developed".It "lent many design elements to the American M60", no actually it didn't, however there are some similarities between all open bolt, light MGs. The MG34 has similarities too, but it wasn't derived from the MG42 either - the point being that simply because one came first, it doesn't mean that being similar means it must have been copied from something else.

I don't think I'd believe the statement that the Yugo copy is slower than the MG42. Parts between the two have the same dimensions and weight. How they could come up with a different rate of fire is a mystery to me, unless they used different ammunition. I've heard them both running, and although my ears aren't rate of fire timers, I can certainly tell when one isn't running up to speed.

Don't believe everything you read, or you'll have to believe that the design of the American M60 is base on the MG42, as I've read many times, and heard repeated even more often (as recently as this week). The two are completely different, as anyone who has had both of them apart will tell you (rotating bolt vs. locking rollers, gas operated vs. recoil operated, etc.). Also speaking of incorrect statements in print, the MG34 rate of fire is NOT adjustable by unscrewing the flash hider (the American MG34 manual says that).

Internet wizards and YouTube stars are not always reliable, and just because somebody wrote it or has it in a book doesn't mean it's true. Of all the stuff I've read and translated about the MG42 and Yugo copy, this is the first I've heard of a rate of fire difference.

Thanks for setting that straight, it's hard for me to differentiate between reliable info this early on learning about the platform. I was trying to figure out in my head how if the feed cover, bolt, buffer system, etc are all pretty much the same how the ROF could be different, and i guess the answer is they aren't, which makes sense, thanks!